Survivors
by Hikareh
Summary: In a world conquered by Robotnik, living is a rebellion in and of itself. Marked for death after the slaughter of their village, Sonic and Tails struggle to survive on the streets of Robotropolis. The resistance offers sanctuary and retribution, but only if they can find them and stay alive in the meantime. One day, one step, one breath at a time. /Alternate Underground Origin/
1. Day 97

Notes: _Heeeey_ , how's it going? Happy October everyone!

So, I left the Sonic fandom a little over three years ago (in case it wasn't painfully obvious), because of multiple factors that I won't get into here, but through the efforts Katiemonz, I think I'm back. For a while there, I was updating my stories because of a sense of obligation and not because I _wanted_ to, and that's not a way to live, my friends. So, I'm beginning afresh with something new. I hope you don't mind if I add one more story to my pile.

Y'know, I considered holding this story until I had written more for it, but today is my birthday so I'm feeling indulgent. I don't know how often updates will be, considering I still want to write ahead, but they'll probably depend on reader response. If you like, review, you know?

This is a sort of alternate take on _Sonic Underground_. Sonic has a different past and Tails is here because, as anyone who reads my stuff can tell you, I have a wheelhouse and I don't stray. This is a new experience for me because this is the most linear story I've ever planned out, it's a bit grittier than my other stuff, and it's also the most action heavy. Take it easy on me, yeah?

Disclaimer: Eh.

Now, I'll leave you be. Please forge ahead!

* * *

 **Survivors**

 _Chapter 1: Day 97_

* * *

They were hiding under a collapsed overpass crawling with SWATbots when Tails's stomach growled. In the fragile silence of the hunt, it sounded like a runaway train, all _woo woo_ we're over here! and Sonic nearly cursed as Tails made a small yipping noise in fear, glancing down at his belly like it has personally offended him. Fair enough—Sonic was really offended right now. How _dare_ basic needs get in their way _now_ , especially when fight or flight was supposed to _suppress_ that kind of thing...!

He grabbed Tails and threw him over his shoulder as robot heads swiveled in their direction. Sonic was close enough to one to see its scanners flip to thermal mode, and he knew that it was definitely time to go. A quick glance around found at least twenty robots spread evenly, methodically, across the overpass, blocking access to the road and the city beyond, seeing as they were backed on to the water on the other side, and Sonic took about .2 seconds to decide which to hit first before springing.

It was after he had ground his feet into the bot's head, Tails screaming in his ear about alloys and their general springiness, that he realized he had miscalculated how much lift the resulting forces would give him. He fell short of the next robot and was forced to roll or else break his ankles, tucking Tails's head into his chest. The SWATbot, meanwhile, swung at him, arm falling like a metal club, and Sonic was forced to slide under, heaving Tails into the air when he realized that the clearance was too low. The fox yelled, unable to get his namesakes working in time, but Sonic was there to catch him, bouncing off the robot in a patented parkour move that allowed him to intercept Tails and slam his foot into the next robot.

His brain kicked back on after that, shock and surprise falling away to give in to a more calculated numbness. Trajectories formed his mind, allowing him to tag each robot and bound from one to another like a pinball, digging his quills into their exoskeletons, spraying oil every which way. It was quick work, especially now that the robots were panicking, heads swiveling around, unable to pinpoint him as their brethren fell to pieces around them. Tails was yelling again, numbers and equations that didn't make much sense, analytical brain putting together patterns faster than Sonic himself. He smashed his fists into the hedgehog's back, alerting him to a robot that he couldn't see and Sonic whipped around, kicking a leg out to sweep it off its feet. It toppled and exploded, just like that, taking one of its friends with it.

And then, it was quiet again.

"That was close," Sonic muttered, voice far too even for all of his acrobatics. Tails struggled in his arms, wriggling in a way that meant _put me down_ and the hedgehog dropped him on his feet, watching as the tiny kit gazed about with wide eyes.

"I've never seen so many before..." he breathed, reaching out to touch a stray helmet. Sonic tutted and kicked it, sending it spinning into the water.

"Robotnik's getting desperate. It's about time we jumped ship and moved camp."

Tails, five-years-old and equipped with terribly manipulative eyes, looked up at him, astounded. "But you can't swim."

Sonic resisted a sigh and rubbed the kid's head, chuckling. "It's just an expression, kiddo. C'mon, let's go get you something to eat so you don't give us away again."

"M'sorry about that..." Tails looked properly abashed, as if he could control his stomach, and Sonic felt like a cad for even mentioning it.

"No, it's not your fault. It's mine for not getting food into you sooner. Won't happen again."

Tails didn't say anything to that, just turned to look at the robots again. Sonic could practically see the little wheels turning in that big brain of his. "Do you think... Could I— Y'know, look at one?"

"No." This came out hard, and the fox's ears fell, expression following. "Robotnik might have built some kind of anti-tampering device into them. If it blew up while you were inside, tinkering away, I don't know what I'd do."

"Probably punch Robotnik," Tails answered cheerily, as if the prospect of his own death didn't scare him one bit. "Then you'd be a hero and everyone would love you and you'd forget about me."

Sonic sighed and reached out for him, waited until a little hand wormed its way into his, and started back toward the city, towing Tails along. "I'd never be able to forget you, Tails," he answered as they walked, ignoring the bright eyes that peered at them from dark alleyways. "You're my only friend."

"Nah uh, what about that one kid—Cyrus! He's your friend!"

Sonic could feel a headache building just behind his eyes from the stress and Tails wasn't helping things. Of course he would choose today to be difficult. "I haven't seen Cyrus in a long time."

"Oh..." Tails trailed off, clearly unable to think of anything to say. His stomach rumbled again, saving them from the silence, and he grinned sheepishly at Sonic. "What're we eating?"

"I was thinking chili dogs—easy to grab and run."

"And you love them," Tails added at a mumble with something in his voice that Sonic couldn't pinpoint. Was is spite? Did Tails just scorn chili dogs?

"Whoa, whoa, bro, you wound me. We haven't had chili dogs in a few weeks!"

"Yeah, but we ate them nonstop for a month once and I can still taste them when I burp sometimes. Sonic, can I get something different? Please?"

Sonic could never say no to that face and Tails knew it, the conniving five-year-old. Really, it was a crime, someone that smart being that cute. "Fine, what do you want? Better pick fast—the shops are gonna close soon."

"Hmm..." Tails placed a hand to his chin, brow wrinkling in concentration. Sonic had to glance away or else be blinded by the sheer adorable. "Cake!"

Sonic made a loud _err-err_ noise, the universal sound of _wrong_. "Cake's not food. Try again."

"Sure it is! You put it in your mouth and chew! It's got calories! Lots of them!"

"How are you five-years-old, know what calories are, and still insisting on eating cake? You're a study in contradiction."

"I'm just pointing out your logical fallacy. Cake is food, therefore I can eat it!"

"You're right," Sonic conceded, causing Tails to beam at him. "But, just because you can eat it doesn't mean I'm gonna get it for you. You better make a new choice, or else you've got a one-way ticket on the chili dog express."

"Chili dogs aren't food either then!" The fox cried petulantly, stubborn to the end. "They're not nutritional at all!"

"Ah, but they're not pure sugar either, my friend."

Tails's mouth snapped shut at that, stumped, and Sonic paused in their trek to let him think. Sometimes, the kid needed a chance to sort through all the information knocking shoulders in his brain, begging for attention. If Sonic's brain was a rolodex, thoughts flipping one after the other, then Tails was an abacus, thoughts sliding back and forth and crashing into each other; he needed more quiet time to think. "Fine," he sighed then, coming back online, "I'll just get a burger then."

"Glad we could come to an agreement! We better run though, or else we won't make it."

Tails sighed like an old man and offered his hand again. Sonic grabbed it and sped up to half speed, landscape blurring around them as he zipped down the familiar streets of the city. It was late enough that there weren't any people around, so he was pretty much unhindered all the way through. He even took some bots out on his way.

Sonic actually knew of a pretty decent hamburger joint. It was a bit of a dive and the chili dogs weren't all that good, but the owner was kickin' and the clientele unobtrusive and reserved; no one cared who you were or what you were up to, as long as you didn't cause any trouble in the diner. It would be perfect for a night like this, when Sonic was a bit high on adrenaline and Tails was feeling a bit antagonistic, both of them itching to bicker.

 _Sal's_ , as it was called, was off the beaten path, pressed between two larger buildings. There was no signage out front, just a few tables set up on a small wooden porch that were never occupied, and the windows were covered with flyers and posters, all shady and written in thief's code. Sonic pushed the door open, causing the bell to jangle, and poked his head inside to see three or four people, each nursing their own food, staring straight at their plates. This wasn't a place where you made eye contact.

The hedgehog felt Tails press close to his legs, fur a bit puffy, and placed a hand on his head to keep him calm. It was a bit of a struggle to jostle his way up to the counter with Tails clinging to his knees, but he managed it, and he hoisted the kit onto a barstool before jumping up into the adjacent one himself. There were a few menus on the counter, so he slid one toward Tails to keep him quiet and glanced toward the kitchen, ears perked for any signs of life.

It took a few minutes, but the owner eventually toddled out. The titular _Sal_ , she defied expectation: a young, suspicious zebra, she stood tall and proud, clearly unintimidated by her dangerous customers, and they respected her for that. She slapped around thieves and gang bosses alike, and they paid her afterwards, thanking her for the privilege. Sonic liked her, even if he was a little terrified of her.

"Sonic!" she called once she spotted him, drawing Tails's wide eyes. "Haven't seen you in a while, kid! Where you been?"

Sonic waved a flippant hand. "Around. You know how it is."

"Still on Robotnik's hit list?" Her voice was loud, but no one reacted—refreshing.

No one except Tails, that was. The fox flinched, as if the reminder that they were at the top of countless kill lists wasn't constantly on his mind. Sonic knocked his foot into his friend's, jostling him a bit in his seat, and was rewarded with a bit of the tension seeping out of the kid's shoulders. "Yeah, well, until they find the royals, every hedgehog is priority one, y'know?"

"Don't help that you're also a Survivor."

There was something about her voice that added gravity to the word, made it capitalized, and Sonic shifted in his seat, trying to push back the heat that rose from his memories, flames licking, making his vision go a bit black around the edges. "Yeah," he muttered, mouth suddenly dry. "A survivor."

Survivor was the underground's name for those marked for death by Robotnik—people who escaped village slaughters and systematic execution but were still on the list, constantly hunted; they received a special sort of treatment in the underbelly, reverence almost. That fight for life was something to be respected, and no one bothered known survivors. Sonic, and Tails in conjunction, just so happened to be the most famous survivor, which was why he felt pretty safe waltzing into places like this. If worst came to worst, someone would help them get out, even with SWATbots breaking down the walls.

Sal had a good read on people so she let Sonic go for a second, turning to Tails. "What about you, cutie? You been okay out there?"

Tails blinked in surprise, clearly trying to place this woman's face with one in his memory. When he came up blank, he could only nod, dumbly. "Uh, yeah, I guess. Sonic's really good at keeping me safe."

She smiled, a soft thing that put Tails at ease, and Sonic nudged him again to get his attention. "You don't remember, but I brought you in here a few weeks ago. You were half asleep but I was too jazzed so Sal let you sleep upstairs while I went for a run."

Sonic expected astonishment, but Tails's expression opened into understanding. "I was wondering why this part of town was kinda familiar."

"I never got a story for you, kid," Sal cut in before Sonic could reply. "Where you from?"

Tails glanced at Sonic in a way that made the hedgehog uncomfortable, so he jumped in. "We're from the same village," he answered shortly.

Sal's expression closed off, hardening as the gravity of that hit her and she nodded, solemn. "I see. Then you're up the same creek without that paddle."

"And Sonic can't swim," Tails added, staring down at his menu. "And I'm not sure where the current's going."

They sat in silence for a few beats, Sal letting them fester in their own sad situation, before she sighed to get their attention.

"What can I get you? I need to get the cook off his ass and into gear."

"A chili dog with the works for me. Tails?"

"A burger," the fox answered, distracted, "and a shake?"

Their lives were so miserable at the moment and Tails's voice so hopeful that Sonic couldn't tell him no. He nodded at Sal, who grinned back at him, and received a brilliant beam from Tails. It was always the little things with him, the tinniest luxury that made his day. Sonic could get behind that kind of optimism.

Sal disappeared back into the kitchen and they heard her yell at the cook, then a male voice hollered back, followed by the banging of pots and the rattle of cutlery. The door jangled again as someone left, money laid bare on the table, and an unseen waitress appeared from the shadows to collect it and begin clearing the table. Tails pushed the menu back towards Sonic, who placed it on the stack and moved to straighten them to keep his hands busy, tapping them against the lacquered counter.

Sal returned soon enough, loaded with a chocolate shake and a glass of water, which she slid to them. Tails fell on his shake like a starved man, sucking on the candy cane straw with a look of concentration on his face. Sonic figured he was trying to protect himself from a brain freeze; with a hard drive that big, a freeze would be lethal. Sal, meanwhile, set Sonic with a look that made his skin itch. That was a look that got him into trouble, most of the time.

"I think you need to find your way to Sanctuary."

Tails choked on his ice cream and Sonic snorted, unsure if it was in reaction to his friend or the woman on the other side of the counter. "Don't you think I know that? I've been doing everything to get their attention—killing bots, infiltrating bases, wearing dresses on the street and rockin' it, but they're not pickin' up what I'm puttin' down. The resistance doesn't want us; we're too hot."

Sal shrugged, picking up Tails's glass and running a wet rag across the counter there to clean up his mess. "I've seen them grab kids with ten times the heat. You need to think bigger."

"You kidding? What's bigger than a pair of survivors from Cocoa, one a hedgehog and the other a mutant—sorry, Tails, but it's true," he broke off when Tails stiffened slightly in his seat, "—who target supplies and SWATbot plants for fun? The only way to push ourselves more into the red would be to break into Robotnik's main base and have dinner with him!" Sal's face turned contemplative at that, as if she were actually considering it. "No, Sal! We're not doing that!"

"I didn't know you were from Cocoa," she answered instead, avoiding Sonic's prickly anger. "That's worse than I thought."

"It was a slaughter," Sonic growled, Tails frozen into a rigid pole next to him. "And I won't make Tails go through that again. We were the only ones who got out."

She shook her head slowly, expression closing off. "I'm sorry. Really. You don't deserve what happened."

"No one does," Sonic shot back, crossing his arms, "which is why I'm working so hard to get Tails into Sanctuary. He deserves a peaceful life. He's only _five_."

"So do you!" Tails cried, finding his voice for the first time in a while. "I don't want to go to Sanctuary if you're not there too! You've gone through just as much as me!"

Sonic let out an agitated puff of air, leaning his elbows onto the counter so he could cradle his face in his hands. "Tails, we've talked about this. I can't—not until Robotnik pays for what he did—what he's _doing_. I need you to be safe and then I need to help stop him."

"I want to help too!"

"And _you are_!" Sonic pressed, looking up, voice no longer muffled by his gloves. "Without you, I wouldn't have been able to take out half of those bases by myself, but how many times have we nearly been caught because I wasn't _fast enough_? I already told you—I can't lose you!"

Tails's jaw clenched and Sonic was half afraid he was going to cry, but he only narrowed his eyes at his friend. "Why? Because I'm the only other survivor? I want revenge too, you know!"

" _No_! Not because you're the only other sur— Tails! Is that what you think? That I only hang out with you because you remind me of home?!"

"No! Well, yeah, but you also feel like you have to take care of me!"

Sonic groaned and thunked his head into the counter. "How can you be so smart but so _dense_?" Sonic grumbled to the floor, eyes shut against the world. "You're like a little brother to me Tails, and family—They keep each other safe!"

There was a ringing silence after that, and Sonic looked up, half afraid that he had said something wrong, but Tails was staring at him, mouth hanging in a small _oh_. There were tears beading in the corners of his eyes, and Sonic felt his stomach drop open. "What? Tails, I'm sorry. What?"

The fox lunged, nearly landing in Sonic's lap, pulling him into a hug as he shoved his face into Sonic's chest, shoulders shaking with silent sobs. "You're like a brother to me too," he whispered, just loud enough for Sonic to hear. "You're all I have left and I don't want you to die!"

Sonic, dumbfounded, wrapped his arms around the kid, ignoring Sal as she turned to retreat into the kitchen to give them some space. "I know, I know. It's okay, Tails. I'm not going anywhere."

It was incredible, how earth changing something as simple as that little reveal could be for a child Tails's age. A brother was probably all he wanted out of life, especially now that his parents were dead, and to have Sonic say that... His brain couldn't take it. His IQ may have been huge, but he still only had the emotional capacity of a five-year-old. Sure, he could comprehend things far more complex than Sonic himself occasionally, but he couldn't rationalize them sometimes. For him, the world was very much black and white, with the good here and the bad there. It would be a while until he could understand what revenge entailed, and, until then, Sonic would have to guide him, especially now. If they ever got into the resistance, it was going to be a fight to keep Tails from following him. He was extremely good at it.

Sonic wasn't sure how long they sat like that, Tails half in Sonic's lap, Sonic rubbing soothing circles in his back, but Sal eventually backed out of the kitchen, two plates balanced in her arms. Sonic gently coaxed Tails back into his seat, wiping the tear tracks from his face in a moment of private condolence, and bopped the kid on the nose once to make him smile. Thusly rewarded, he turned to his food, taking a deep, exaggerated sniff.

"Oh Chaos, Sal," he practically moaned as he grabbed the chili dog, "this smells like heaven."

"I try," she replied, leaning on hip on the opposite side of the counter. "Extra cheese, just how you like it."

Sonic made another deep sound of appreciation and took a slow bite, just to enjoy it. It had been far too long since he had had one of these.

Tails meanwhile had devoured half his burger in two bites and was taking a break to toss back a few fries. Okay, maybe Sonic should feed him more often.

"Dang Sonic," Sal remarked as Tails returned to his sandwich and practically swallowed the rest of it in one bite, "do you ever feed this kid?"

Sonic actually put his chili dog down to answer her, that was how serious he was. "Hey! It's not like we've got time! Robotnik's practically stalking us!"

"Actually, and don't ask me how I know this—doctor-patient confidentiality and all—but—"

"You're not a doctor."

"Whatever. Word on the street is that Robotnik has an army of bounty hunters. Odds are, it's not him stalking you; it's some of his cronies."

Sonic sighed, a deep, dark sound that came from his tired soul. "I thought he didn't trust organics."

Sal shrugged and took the time to push Tails's milkshake towards him when he started to cough and choke on some fries before answering. "His robots aren't smart enough to track people yet. He has to rely on good ole mobian smarts for that. And, from what I've heard, you're particularly hard to follow. You're unpredictable."

"And fast," Tails put in as he took a break to breathe. "They probably can't find him on camera."

Sonic raised his glass to that before taking a sip. "Whoever it is, they're pretty good. They always manage to find us."

Sal's expression hardened a bit. "I think you've got it backwards, kid. You're the good ones. I haven't seen anyone slip and slide their way out of trouble like you. How long you been on the run?"

Sonic shifted uncomfortably and pointedly took a bite of his chili dog so he wouldn't have to answer right away.

"Little more than three months," Tails answered for him, done with his food.

Her eyes widened slightly. "Jeeze boys, that's incredible. The longest I'd heard of before now was a few weeks!"

"Yeah, well," Sonic groused, sound like an old man, "the bots are slow and clunky, and we ain't even seen any bounty hunters. It's not that hard to get away."

She shook her head. "Don't sell yourself short, Sonic. You're challenging Robotnik's rule just by surviving."

Sonic made an indescribable, exasperated sound at that. "Great, that means he'll just come after us more. Just what I need. How long do the bounty hunters have to track us before they get sacked anyway? You'd think we would'a gotten a new one by now."

She shrugged again, glancing past his shoulder and into the restaurant, probably making sure there weren't any unsavory ears. "I can't tell you. I assume Robotnik gives them a bit of a bubble to get to know their targets, but he's not the most patient man in the world. Odds are, you've gone through two or three already."

Sonic made another noise, this one a short of half groan, and shoved the rest of his chili dog into his mouth to keep from having to reply. The idea that there had been three different people hunting them should have bothered him, but he was more worried about what had happened to Bounty Hunters 1 and 2. Did they have a date with the roboticizer?

The fact that he was concerned about people who wanted him dead should have also bothered him, but he took it as a sign that he had managed to retain his morality. The lam hadn't taken that from him yet.

A somber air laid itself on them after that, heavy and suffocating. Sonic ate his chili dog as quickly as possible, shoving the last few bites into his mouth so roughly he barely tasted it, and threw back the rest of his water right after. One glance at Tails found that he had finished his shake and had pushed it toward Sal along with his plate.

"What do we owe you?" Sonic inquired as Sal moved to grab their dishes. The zebra paused, ears flicking ever so slightly as she thought.

"A good night's sleep," she answered eventually.

"I mean we don't have much money but— Wait, _huh_?"

She jerked her head toward the back of the restaurant, toward the door that led to her private living quarters. ( _'Don't make enough money for anything else_ ,' she had explained to Sonic at their first meeting, months ago.) "Go get some sleep."

Sonic blinked, shared a look with Tails, blinked again. "Huh?" he repeated.

"You got somewhere else to go, kid? Maybe a five star hotel?"

Sonic threw his hands up defensively. "I don't have anything lined up, but it's nothing new—sleeping on the street."

"Haven't you been listening? You've got bounty hunters after you and you're at the top of the priority list, considering how long you've been on the run. You need to lay low for a while."

Sonic shifted in his seat, suddenly very aware of Tails's wide eyed gaze. "We can't put you in danger, Sal—"

She rolled her eyes and dropped the plates in the window to the kitchen. The cook's head appeared and he sent her the evil eye as he pulled the dishes through. "I can take care of myself, y'know. You think you're the first high risk kids I've taken in?"

Sonic crossed his arms and set her with a hard look. "I think we're the first to have such persistent trackers."

She waved a hand flippantly. "Please—and don't argue with me. You're like, what, eleven?"

"Twelve," Sonic gritted out.

"I'm five!" Tails added, just to get a word in. Sal chuckled.

"Okay, so twelve and five. I'm at least three times that. I'm pretty sure I know what I'm talking about. Now get up those stairs, or am I gonna have to carry you?"

"You'll have to catch me first," Sonic grumbled, but slid out of the seat regardless. They were better off not fighting her; Sal could be persistent, and Sonic didn't want to be on her list. The last thing he needed was the thieves coming after him too, especially only because he didn't take a bed when it was offered. "Where to, boss?"

"Up the stairs, take a right. Bed's second room down; shower's right after. And don't clog the drain with fox fur."

Sonic vaguely heard Tails make an affronted sound, but he was too busy fantasizing about a hot shower—damn, how long that it been? A month? Two? Sure, they managed to sneak into the aristocrats' bathhouses every now and then, but it was always after hours so the fires were stamped and the water cold. He shivered—just thinking about Tails's whining and the freezing, slimy water was enough to give him the chills. "C'mon, fur ball," he commanded as he held his arms up to his friend to help him off the stool. "Let's get you cleaned up. Time to evict the fleas."

Sal sent him a sharp glare while Tails moaned. "I _don't_ have fleas, Sonic! Stop telling people that!"

Sonic only grinned in response and rubbed the kid's head, mussing his fur. "I only speak the truth. I cannot tell a lie."

" _That_ was a lie!"

The hedgehog chuckled and ushered him in the proper direction, shooting Sal a small smile. "Thanks, by the way."

She waved a hand, glancing towards the cash register as if it had just occurred to her that it still existed. "No worries. Get a move on. I want some peace when I get up there."

...

It was surprisingly easy to get Tails to take a shower, which meant that it had been far too long since their last dip. Usually, the kid was against any sort of bath like he had a grudge, but this time he hopped right into the tub. In fact, he used up all the hot water, something Sonic griped about for the thirty minutes it took for the heater to fill back up, which only made Tails grin in a way that made Sonic realize it had been intentional.

"You better be asleep when I get back," he ordered ominously as he paused in the doorway. "I mean actual sleep, not that half-sleep you seem so good at."

Tails's only response was a half-assed salute and an "aye aye sir" before he tumbled onto the bed and burrowed into the blankets, pulling them up to his chin. Sonic was pretty sure the fox was out before he even made it to the bathroom.

The shower wasn't anything special, but it had options for hot, cold, and everything in between, so it was practically a luxury. Sonic stepped into the scalding spray and felt the muscles in his back release all at once. He hissed and ducked his head into the water, allowing it to run between the fur on the back of his head, sliding between quills and along his skin, like small, hot fingers. It reminded him of his mother, back when she would bathe him by hand in their small metal tub, all affectionate and muttering under her breath, things like _"how'd you get so dirty, son? Did you take it upon yourself to singlehandedly collect every single speck of dirt and dust on the island? Your father was like that... Rolling around with the other boys, digging holes to nowhere_..."

He hissed again, this time in pain, and forced his mind to go blank. He focused on the water, the feel of the tile under his bare feet, studied the pale lines on his hands. The pads of his fingers were red from the heat, fingerprints colored like blood. He pressed them to the wall, felt the warm ceramic, and blinked away water, trying to keep it together.

He hadn't thought of home since the attack. His last glance of it had been a peek over the side of a supply ship, Tails a mewling ball of trauma next to him. It had still been on fire, Kukus patrolling, looking for life and shooting anything that moved. That had been the last ship, stolen back to the mainland by robots because the supplies were too valuable. When they snuck off in Robotropolis harbor, they were orphans and lost, newly minted Survivors. He hadn't had time to think about home.

Tails had nightmares; Sonic had nightmares. They pretended they didn't come morning. It was the order of things now. He didn't need to waste time thinking now, especially with bounty hunters on their backs. He had to keep Tails safe, get into the resistance, and help end this. One way or another, he would see the downfall of Robotnik—for his home, for the people, for the world, for everyone. He wouldn't think until it was over.

He went through the motions of showering robotically. Soap swirled down the drain, water thundered on his back, and he stared at the wall, counting tiles to keep himself occupied. His fingers were wrinkled by the time he got out, and he took one look at his gloves after he had toweled off and scowled. They were disgusting with dirt, oil, food stains, blood, and who knew what else, but he didn't have time to give them a proper cleaning. New ones were out of the question, especially since he had to save up to get Tails a new pair soon enough—the kid was growing quickly and he would be too big for his eventually.

With a sigh, he turned the water in the sink to the hottest setting and plugged the drain. The bowl was small so it filled quickly and he tossed them in, glanced down at his shoes, and decided to add his socks as well. Hell, he might as well grab Tails's while he was at it.

He darted into the bedroom and found the fox's sole clothing piled on the nightstand, shoes lined up along the wall. He grabbed and darted, not wanting to wake his friend, and didn't think twice before shoving his hands into the sink.

The heat nearly burned the feeling from his hands, and he swallowed a yell. This was the closest he would get to a deep cleaning—the heat would hopefully kill any germs or other icky stuff—and it was all he had time for. There was a bar of soap sitting on the basin, so he grabbed that and scrubbed at each glove and sock, allowing the heat to distract his thoughts.

With that done, he laid each item of clothing out to dry and turned to leave, suddenly exhausted. It was a long trek back to the bedroom now, and the floors creaked under his feet, bringing forth memories of the old schoolhouse that he never attended but snuck into on multiple occasions. School was reserved for only the richest of mobians under Robotnik and everyone on Cocoa was banned. SWATbots were posted at all the doors, but they couldn't stop a curious and trouble-prone Sonic. He slipped into windows and even crawled up under the foundation once, knocking a hole through the old floor. What he found within was disappointing, but the school became a haven of sorts. It was a safe place to practice his letters, away from his mother's judgmental eye—she was a good teacher, but he never could get his lines straight when she watched; he did better practicing on his own—to dig out books and sound words into the silence, filling the space with language and learning one last time.

Sonic shook his head and sped up. The hallway was too dark for his tastes, and the door seemed to be getting further away, but he never let distance stop him. He forced his feet to move, pounding so hard that the world sped up, and crashed through the door, heaving for air when it was usually even and paced.

The room was as he had left it, and Tails was nothing more than a lump under the blankets. Blowing out a breath, Sonic shoved the door closed, locking the memories outside, and practically fell onto the bed, pushing Tails over toward the wall. He struggled to climb under the blankets, and immediately had a fuzzy body pressed into his own, Tails curling into the curve of Sonic's stomach. This was one of the only small comforts Sonic allowed himself, so he wrapped his arms around the smaller child and felt Tails relax, secure in the knowledge that Sonic was there to protect him. That made one of them, at least.

All things considered, sleep should have been just out of reach, but Sonic was good at pushing things away, keeping thoughts locked up, so he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep almost immediately. He didn't even have time to count to four.

...

" _Sonic_! Get up!"

The hedgehog jolted awake, jumping off the bed as his eyes opened, and nearly lashed out at the hand that had been on his shoulder. Luckily, his brain caught up and he took in Sal, crouched in front of the bed, still dressed from her day in the diner, lit by a flashlight clutched in her hand.

Her mouth was moving, and Sonic felt Tails shift behind him, rising from his sleep to trundle and struggle his way across the mattress, unable to really make the words out, considering the crashing noises in his skull.

Sal let out what looked like a groan and dragged Sonic close so she could press her lips to his ear, yelling straight into the tent of his earlobe. " _They're here_! _SWATbots and fliers and who knows what else! We have to get out_!"

Sonic's brain took a few seconds to consider that, thought _huh, guess the crashing isn't in my head after all_ , and then cursed, loud and concussive. Tails made an _oooh_ sound behind him, a child reacting to terrible language, and Sonic twisted around to jerk him off the bed.

"Take Tails!" he commanded, whirling the kit toward Sal. "Out the window! I have some stuff to grab!" So saying, he stooped down and snagged the fox's shoes, shoving them into his friend's chest. "Go with Sal, you hear me?" He stared Tails straight in the face, waiting until he nodded. "I'll catch up."

Tails looked like he wanted to argue, but Sal towed him off, sending Sonic a look that said, _I hope this is worth it_. She hauled the window open and didn't even look down as she climbed onto the sill and jumped out. Tails followed with one last look, and then trailed after her.

Sonic was alone.

* * *

 _Haha cliffhanger. I said I was feeling indulgent, not benevolent._

I'm going to be frank here: 90s American Sonic reminds me of a shark. Not only does he have a dorsal fin, but he's mean, grouchy, will bite your head off, and has to keep moving or he'll die. (Come to think of it, Boom!Sonic is the same way. What is it with western interpretation of "attitude" and "cool" meaning "rude" and "salty"?) My Sonic has and always will be a quick witted and a bit sassy, but he inherently cares about people. This devil-may-care _haha you almost died but I made it here barely in time_ Sonic is only in the cartoons (and anime, if we're counting Sonic X), and I don't like it. Sonic is almost always ahead of everything in the games (Colors: he got a jump on Eggman well before he had his mind control ray truly perfected; Adventure: he didn't goof off until Chaos became a problem—he went after him from the get-go; hell, he even heard about Little Planet and sped his little butt over there only to find Eggers knocking all the plates off the shelf and was like STOP THAT'S THE GOOD CHINA (terrible analogy—got it).) Point is, I don't write Underground Sonic. I don't write 90s Sonic period. Manic is like the best character in Underground because he's free to be sassy and let the writers flex their quip muscles, while Sonic is dogged down with catchphrases and lingo in a corn field somewhere eating cheese (nope, this was the terrible analogy), so I just don't mess with it. You're getting bona fide SegaSonic here folks. Hopefully, I put enough, y'know, plot reasons in there to explain this away, but there's my dissertation.

 _Reviews are cherished._


	2. Wanted: Dead

**Notes:** I hear you about the pacing. I'm working on a fix. (Anon, in return, I ask that you work on a bit more nuanced phrasing. Your review made me feel like I was two-years-old, telling me to learn to pace myself. I know how—I just flubbed a bit.)

Happy 25th to our favorite hedgehog! (And his egg-shaped villain!) I hope to have a oneshot done later today, but this update will do for now.

Thank you so much for all your kind reviews! This story has blown me away with how many smart reviews it's gotten. Happy I could encourage such discussion!

 _Onward!_

 **Survivors**

 _Chapter 2: Wanted: Dead_

Sonic had no time to get his plan in order, so this was definitely going be a flying by the seat of his pants operation—and he didn't wear pants.

Really, the stuff he had to grab were their socks and gloves, still drying in the bathroom and easily replaced, but Sonic didn't have the cash to buy _both_ himself and Tails a new set of sturdy gloves. They couldn't afford to go without them either, especially Tails with his thick fur and sensitive finger pads, so here went Sonic—risking life and limb for a bunch of fabric.

 _Okay_ , he thought to himself as he opened the door to the hallway and poked his head out. It was quiet, which was definitely suspicious, considering the loud, concussive noises that had just deafened him seconds before. _I'm actually curious about our bounty hunter._ _The gloves and socks are an excuse_.

 _You're risking your life for a glance at someone who wants to_ kill _you?_

 _Um, yeah._

"And now I'm talking to myself," he muttered under his breath, deciding to just cut his losses and creep out into the hallway. _The boards creak_ , his inner voice reminded him, piping up probably just to annoy him. He scowled and sped up a bit, being careful not to go _too_ fast, and arrived at the bathroom in no time. The white fabric sat merrily on the sink, completely oblivious to the danger that was right around the corner, and Sonic snatched all four sets up before wheeling around to return back to the bedroom where his shoes were waiting— _should'a brought those_! the voice wheezed. (Annoyingly.) Then, he would be out the window and gone into the sunset.

 _Sunrise_.

 _Shut up._

He peeked out again, just to be safe, and was immediately thankful that he did, because two pin prinks of light blinked at him from the stairs, far too luminescent to be mobian eyes. He nearly cursed under his breath and pulled back in, stomach plummeting to reside somewhere in the vicinity of his feet.

Well, this complicated things.

Sonic could handle SWATbots. They were a cakewalk compared to some of Robotnik's other creations, but that was clearly not a SWATbot. For one thing, Sonic would have _heard_ it coming up the stairs, and for another, it wouldn't have eyes that small or low to the ground. No, this was a new robot, one that Sonic had no prior experience with, and he was going to have to take it on in the limited space of the hall. With no shoes.

He was screwed.

He had to move though, and Sonic the Hedgehog was no coward, so he took one deep breath for posterity (because it just might be his last), and kicked the door open.

The hallway was still silent; hell, the _diner_ was silent, almost like they had pulled all the big bots back. The stretch between the bathroom and bedroom was completely exposed, so Sonic had to move quick. He ducked out of the room, head down, and moved as fast as he dared without his shoes, nearly sliding past the room. He hooked a hand on the frame and towed himself in, breathing hard, before checking himself for laser or bullet holes.

Nothing.

He hadn't even been attacked.

"What on mobius..." This came out as a mutter as his curiosity got the best of him and he looked back out into the hall, hugging the door for support and protection. The eyes still peered at him, half concealed in the dark.

" _Scanning_ ," a robotic voice intoned, and a red spread laser shot out of one of the eyes, pinning Sonic's head. He yelped and jerked back, falling onto his backside in his haste. One strong kick shut the door with a snap.

" _Priority: Hedgehog sighted. Location determined. Requesting aerial assault._ "

The curse that came out of Sonic's mouth was something that would have sent his mother chasing him with a wooden spoon. He scrambled to his feet, hooked his fingers into his shoes on the way, and practically threw himself out the window.

The building exploded.

Sonic was knocked head over heels by the blast and he landed at least twenty feet later, cursing the whole way. The world was spinning and his ears were ringing and he could feel blood dripping from his knees and elbow and possibly his hands, but he knew that he had to _move_. It took all of his strength to convince his jelly bones to cooperate, but he managed to climb to his feet. Then, he tumbled to the ground when he tried to take a step.

" _Damn it_ ," he hissed, except it was both too loud in his head and too muffled in his ringing ears. The sky was alive with orange and he could feel the _thwump, thwump_ of helicopter blades, so whichever robot had shot the missile was close. He had to _take cover_ —!

A strong hand clapped on his shoulder and he whipped around, ready to kick someone's head right off their shoulders, but then he caught sight of Sal, silhouetted by the flames of her former diner and practically fell forward out of relief. She was yelling at him, he could just hear the timbre of her voice, but the words were lost to the piercing ringing. He shook his head at her, hoping she would get the message. She towed him up and half-dragged him off, right into the nearest alley to the diner. Just in time too—a troop of robots rolled past half a minute later.

"Sonic!" That was definitely Tails, even though everything was still muted as all hell. A pair of fuzzy arms lassoed his middle and a heavy body crashed into his, knocking all the air out of his lungs. "You're okay!"

"Yeah," Sonic breathed, still not believing it himself. "And you are too. Good." He couldn't help the grateful feeling that bloomed in his chest. As long as Tails was safe, nothing else mattered.

"We need to move," Sal ordered from where she was pressed against the corner, peering back the way they had come. "They're sweeping the area. Damn, I've never seen them attack with that much force. They really want you dead."

Sonic felt his face go white. "I thought Robotnik robotisized everyone he sent bounty hunters after!"

Her face and voice were grim. "I did too. Guess you're too much trouble."

Tails made a very distressed, wordless sound, and Sonic placed a gentle hand on his head, hoping that it wasn't shaking. "We'll be okay," he whispered, though he wasn't sure if he was trying to convince Tails or himself. "Here," he commanded, shoving the troublesome gloves and socks into his friend's hands, "put these on."

"You went back for _this_?" the fox demanded, accepting the bundle when Sonic pushed it roughly.

"Yeah, don't question me right now. Just do it. Yell at me later."

Tails gave him a look that said that he would _most definitely_ be yelling at him later, but Sonic was okay with that. Later meant they would be alive.

A good minute passed and then they were moving again, darting down the street and shadow dodging when they heard robots approach. "We have to get away from the diner," Sal panted as she struggled to keep up with the children. "I know a place, but it's ten minutes away by foot."

Sonic nodded and glanced at Tails. The fox was absolutely terrified, but he was doing a good job of hiding it. "Don't fly," Sonic reminded him when he saw the fox glancing around, trying to gauge the space in the alley. "Too noticeable."

"Right... Sorry." Properly abashed, Tails pressed closer to Sonic, riding his six.

They spent the next indeterminate amount of time ducking and dodging again. Sonic and Tails, perfectly and grimly used to this kind of treatment after three months on the run, easily followed Sal as she led them through Robotropolis's maze of streets. Eyes peered at them from the darkness when they stopped for breath sometime around minute four, more for Sal's sake than the children's, and she sent some kind of hand signal that was all wave and finger flourish toward the illuminated gaze. A few beats of silence followed before the eyes disappeared.

"The thieves are clearing a path," Sal muttered, leaning forward to rest her hands on her knees so she could catch her breath. "They'll set up road blocks if they can, but those won't stop some of the bigger bots. Depends on what your hunters have at their disposal."

Overhead, something thundered by, just barely skirting the buildings, and Tails made a small noise of fear, pressing himself close to Sonic's side again. "I'm going to assume infinite," Sonic muttered in response.

Sal cast a look up, following the cruiser's trail with her eyes. "You're probably right." She looked grim as she straightened. "We better get moving. Hopefully we can slide into the sewers for some of the trek, or else we're going to be in the open."

She was right about the thieves. As they moved, Sonic noticed a distinct lack of small obstacles like trash cans in their path, most pushed hurriedly off to the side. Their path was pretty unhindered until they came upon a hooded figure crouching in the middle of one street, holding up a manhole cover with both hands. Sonic's nerves, being so high strung, nearly sent him crashing into the guy to keep Tails safe, but Sal grabbed his elbow before he could lunge, as if she could read his mind.

"Don't," she hissed before letting him go and sliding into the hole. Just barely, they heard her land in the sewer below them.

"Hurry," the hooded figure urged, "there's a squad coming."

Sonic couldn't hear them, but Tails's ears were twitching in the direction they had just come, and he kept glancing back, so his superior canine hearing must have picked them up. That was proof enough and Sonic pushed the fox into the hole before following him. Above them, the thief let the cover fall with a crash and they were plunged into darkness.

Sal clicked on her flashlight, providing a single beam of light, and sloshed into the water. Sonic couldn't see much, but he could feel the feral rats swarming away from them, brushing against his legs, and he very nearly gagged. Tails, who had become a permanent extension of Sonic's body, grabbed his hand.

"I'm scared," he muttered with the simple terror of children. Just barely, Sonic could feel him trembling.

"I'm taking you to a local resistance leader," Sal called from where she had stopped to wait for them. "She should be able to get you out of here. C'mon, we have to keep going."

"You _know_ a resistance leader?" Sonic demanded, pulling Tails behind him as he plunged into the water. It came up almost to his hips and he shivered. Tails, submerged up to his stomach, followed silently.

"We're old friends. Now be quiet. Robotnik might have sensors down here."

Sonic wanted to argue, but he knew good advice when he heard it so he clamped his mouth shut. The following minutes were unspeakable, both in terror gripped moments where they heard people scream above them, guns firing, and even a SWATbot reporting its status, as if it were right on top of them, and in the sheer nastiness of the smell. It clogged Sonic's throat, made it hard for him to breathe, and he was in a constant stage of almost throwing up the whole time. He was actually thankful when they left the relative safety of the sewer and emerged back into the immediate danger of the street.

"Go straight across the street," Sal ordered as she pushed the manhole cover up on her own. Sonic, in all his fear, actually found it in himself to be impressed by her strength. "Knock on the door five times, short, long, long, short, long. A tiger should let you in. Her name is Jillian."

Sonic didn't need to be told twice. He clambered out of the hole and dragged Tails up after him before darting across the street and banging out the knock. Sonic heard something move on the other side of the door and then the lock clicked. A striped hand reached out and grabbed them, towing them through the doorway, before it slammed shut.

"Chaos," the tiger declared, "you reek. Did Sal take you through the _sewer_?"

"Yes," Sonic and Tails answered together, flat, no nonsense. Jillian shook her head and paused, leaning her head toward the door.

"Stand back. Sal's coming in."

Sonic and Tails skittered backwards, nearly tripping over a child's toy as they went, and barely managed to catch themselves before they crashed into the couch. Sal barreled through the door and Jillian slammed it shut behind her.

Now that they were relatively safe, Sonic took the chance to knee down in front of Tails to check him over for injuries. Behind them, the two women started hissing at each other and gesturing at the children. Sonic felt his ear twitch.

"You okay?" he asked Tails as he placed his hands on the kit's shoulders. Tails was shivering from their impromptu dip, but otherwise looked okay. His pupils were blown wide with fear and his hands were grasping at his sides, a clear signal that he wanted something to hold onto, and Sonic very gently offered his friend his hand. Tails latched onto it like an infant.

"Yeah," the fox answered eventually, staring down at the floor. "Not hurt."

"Good." Sonic sent a glance over his shoulder at the zebra and tiger, who were now looking at them, as if waiting for them to finish.

"Sonic, we need to talk to you in the kitchen."

Sonic's eyes narrowed and he very nearly refused, but Sal's strained and worried expression made him hold his tongue. Instead, he guided Tails to the window and pressed him down with a hand to his shoulder. "Listen buddy, I'll be right in there. You sit here and peek outside every now and then to keep watch okay? Don't move."

Tails nodded and it was a battle for Sonic to get his hand back from him, but he managed it. With a sigh, he followed the women into the kitchen, where they were standing around the corner looking grim-faced. Toward the back of the room, hunkered down between the cabinets, were a male tiger and a small cub, probably Jillian's family. The man was rocking the child back and forth, looking up at them with an expression that was so openly terrified that Sonic had to look away.

"I'll be straight with you, kid," Jillian began without preamble, pulling a chair out and sitting down. "I can only take one of you."

"Take Tails," Sonic shot back immediately.

Jillian sighed and tapped the table with her claw, an agitated move that sent a sharp snap of sound into the air. "The resistance doesn't want him."

" _What_?"

"They want you, kid. You're valuable. Your friend is..."

Sonic could feel his stomach slowly turning itself inside out. He knew what was coming, could sense it even before it came out of her mouth, and he needed to stop it. He couldn't stand the idea that Tails would always be... That Tails...

He shook his head and tried to make his voice as hard as possible. "He needs to get to Sanctuary."

"Look—" Jillian tried to say, Sal grimacing behind her. Sonic wouldn't have any of it.

"He gets into Sanctuary, and the resistance can do whatever they want with me." He was trying to be reasonable, even if everything about this situation was anything but.

The room was quiet for a few long seconds. Outside, they could hear robots trashing the street, turning over everything and ripping away doors in their search. They don't have much time and Sonic could feel the sweat dripping down his face and back, could taste the smoke in the air, and he knew that the next few seconds were critical.

"Kid," Jillian ate up a few of those seconds to sigh, "Sanctuary is full. No one's getting in."

Sonic felt his already upside down and inside out stomach drop open. " _What_?"

"Think about it, if there was room do you think my kid would still be in the city?" She jerked her arm toward her husband and child, still cowering in the corner.

"But..." Sonic is reeling, hands grasping for purchase on the table, brain whirling around the words, unable to ground himself around them. "There's _always_ room for—"

"Not when we don't got safe places for the kids to go. Sanctuary is only a pass-through, a purgatory almost. Kids come in, stay a while for the heat to wear off, and then we ship 'em somewhere safe. Well, there's ain't nowhere safe anymore. Safest place _is_ Sanctuary and it's not meant to be a long-term thing."

"But, I—" Maybe it was the explosion still ringing in his head or the imminent danger in the form of Tails's whimpering from where he was sitting at the window, but Sonic still couldn't quite understand her logic under all his desperation. "No, that's not..."

"Sonic!" Tails's voice finally found substance. That, or his voice finally made it through Sonic's brain clog. "They're right there! We need to go!"

"I need an answer, kid!" Jillian hissed, glancing back at her family.

Something in that gesture kicked Sonic in the chest and he pushed away from the table. "No," he pronounced, already thinking about where they would need to go next. They couldn't be found here. He wouldn't be the reason for the senseless deaths of Jillian's family. "Take Sal if you have the room. She's got connections with the thieves and she's valuable."

"Sonic," Sal shot back, and it reminded the hedgehog a lot of his mother when she was particularly upset with him. "I can take care of myself."

"Yeah, well, take it as a thanks for helping us then." Sonic was itching to go. Tails had scrambled back from the window and was half falling over himself to get to the kitchen. "You got a back door?" he demanded of Jillian as Tails latched himself back against Sonic's side.

"Jill..." Sal's voice was harder than before, and she sent her friend a critical glance. "At least do _something._ We can't just send these kids out to their deaths."

Jillian sighed and reached under the table. Sonic heard something click behind her. "Listen, I'm going to talk fast and I can only say this once."

Sonic felt his head go crystal clear, as if all the confusion and white noise of before had never existed. He nodded when he realized she was waiting for his answer.

"Behind me is the back door. You go out it, hook a left, a right, another left, and then stick near the perimeter of the city until you reach the border, hear me? You're way too hot to stay in town, so you need to get out for a few weeks."

"But the border is fenced!" Tails cried, fisting a hand into the fur on Sonic's leg and tugging so hard it brought tears to Sonic's eyes. "If we try to leave, we'll be vaporized!"

That was true enough. There was an invisible, web-like barrier surrounding the city that destroyed any unauthorized organic matter that passed through it, both to control the flow of people into and out of the city and to create a dependency on expensive, imported goods. Fear and poverty worked well to keep people in line. Sonic didn't think this situation could get much worse, but the universe had ways of surprising them.

Jillian nodded once at Tails, a move that made it seem almost like she respected him. She deftly pulled what looked like a watch out of her pocket and slid it across the table towards the fox. "We have a passage through the caves that goes under the fence. Follow that navigator and it'll take you right to it. Once you get into the cave, it's a straight shot to the coast. Head to Green Hill Zone. It's a low security Zone with a strong local resistance branch. You should be safe."

Outside, something crashed near the door and Sonic grabbed Tails's hand. "Okay, time's up. Thanks for the advice. We gotta vamoose."

He started for the door, but Sal grabbed his bicep as he passed, jerking him to a stop. "Sonic, I had no idea that things were so screwed up with Sanctuary. I—"

"It's okay," he shot back, bouncing on his feet. "Thanks for your help. I don't think we would've gotten this far without you."

She nodded and glanced toward Jillian before leaning toward him to whisper. "When you get back into the city, I know you'll be looking to get back into the resistance again. I'll probably be relocated by then, but if you need help, find a guy named Vector. He'll get you where you need to be." She let go of his arm and shoved him toward the door. "Get going. Stay safe."

Sonic's mind was back to whirling, and he felt Tails start forward, dragging him toward the door. It slid open as they approached and slammed shut once they were outside. Sonic took a few seconds to get their bearings, peering up at the stars peeking at them from between the buildings. They could hear the robots on the adjacent street, but other than that, it was quiet.

There was a soft beep near his knees and Sonic glanced down to see Tails holding up his wrist, navigator strapped so it would sit just under the fold of his glove. "That way," the fox muttered, pointing a shaking finger down the street.

"Well," Sonic let out a sigh, "let's blow this town then."

 _I'm not very happy with this chapter and I'm sick of looking at it. There's probably typos, but I'll get them later. Take it easy on me, yeah?_

 _Reviews are cherished._


	3. Spelunking

**Notes:** All aboard the Sonic hype train! Couldn't resist updating now, especially since the Sonic 2017 trailer reminded me so much of this story... ;)

We have a **cover** now! Very very very special thanks to my daughter TheBlurredLine23 for the beautiful cover of this story! Please go show her some love!

Now we go forward!

* * *

 **Survivors**

 _Chapter 3: Spelunking_

* * *

The navigator took them right to the cave opening, but only after leading them down a few dead-ends and swooping them up and far too close to the perimeter for comfort. For one second, Sonic could feel the invisible webbing hum against his fur and he had to lunge to grab Tails, who had his little head stuck in the navigator, to keep him from walking right into the fence. After that, they backed very slowly away from it and continued on, moving as fast as they dared.

The city was surrounded by two sheer cliffs on either side, an ocean on the other, and the only way in and out was dense forest. There were small roads running through the forest for supplies, but other than that, it was untamed.

At least, that's what Robotnik wanted them to think.

Tails very easily identified cameras and motion sensors as they went, barely glancing up from his navigator and pointing them out with a gesture of his hand. Sonic wanted to smash the cameras, but Tails very gently (and squeakily, in Sonic's opinion) reminded him that it would do no good. Leaving a trail of dark cameras would only allow Robotnik to track them more easily, and they could probably just rush past. However, it became quickly apparent that there were sensors everywhere, so they were better off just _moving_.

They tumbled into the cave exhausted and drained. They had been on the street for hours with only a bit of sleep to call their own and Tails looked ready to pass out. The terror that had plagued him in the city had worn off, only to be replaced with crusty annoyance and vague fright, and he was constantly hissing at the navigator and punching the touch screen with his gloved fingers.

"We can't stay here," Sonic huffed as he leaned over and tried to catch his breath. The last stretch through the trees had been particularly harrowing as their bounty hunters had finally pulled flying bots from the perimeter to track them. It had taken their combined four eyes to keep themselves from being spotted, and Sonic never wanted to swing from a tree limb again for as long as he lived.

"The 'bots are right behind us," Tails finished for him, still looking down at his navigator. "I can hear them."

That was true enough. With the trees and the foliage, it was easy to tell where Robotnik's SWATbots were. They were loud and clumsy, and with their small sizes, Sonic and Tails were able to easily stay ahead of them. That didn't mean they were able to lose them completely.

Sonic stood completely and started to bounce on his toes, glancing into the dark of the cave. "Which way?"

"That way..." Tails trailed off, pointing vaguely deeper into the cave. "I think."

"You _think_? Tails, we need positives right now."

"There's only one way _to_ go, Sonic!"

"Whoa, snippy," Sonic muttered, swinging around to pin his friend with a look. "What's wrong?"

"This—" Tails slammed his small fist into the navigator, "piece of junk won't work! I can't get it to track us accurately! I— It's the only thing keeping us safe and it's not _working_!"

"Whoa, whoa." Sonic slid down so he was kneeling in front of his friend. "It's okay. We can get through this without it. We've gotten this far pretty much on our own, right?"

"You've gotten us here," Tails muttered, still staring down at this little wrist device. "I've only slowed you down."

"Hey, hey, _no._ We're not doing this now. You've saved my life plenty times!"

Tails sighed, a tired thing that belied his age, and Sonic wished more than anything that he could bring back the happy-go-lucky fox that he saw at the market on Cocoa on the weekends. That fox was long gone now, replaced with a hardened, terrified, battle worn Survivor. It was amazing that the only thing that survived of Cocoa Tails was his ability to doubt himself.

Tails opened his mouth to snap back at Sonic, but there was the sound of crashing, stumbling robots a few yards away from the entrance of the cave and Sonic wrapped an arm around Tails's bicep to heave the two of them to their feet. "Gotta go," he muttered as he towed his friend into the darkness, already beginning to jog.

"Sonic!" Tails tried to get his arm free, the navigator beeping at him. "We can't get through this cave without the navigation! It's dark!"

"Just use your gut, Tails! We just need to get _away_ for now!"

Tails didn't say anything back, just grimly began to run with Sonic. The hedgehog released his arm and plowed forward, being very careful not to go too fast, especially when he glanced back and caught sight of Tails trying to use the navigator while he ran. He wanted to tell him to forget it, but that little wrist computer was the only thing helping Tails focus and not melt into a pile of panic right now, so he just let him.

"Wall!" Tails called as Sonic looked forward again, and the hedgehog slammed his heels into the ground, skidding to a stop so fast that he probably left ruts in the stone. He threw his hands out in front of him and they smashed into the wall, snapping his wrists almost in half. He hissed as his body followed his arms and Tails smacked into him right after, squashing him further.

They crashed to the ground, heaving for air, Sonic's wrists screaming at him, hearts hammering, the navigator chirping away. Sonic could feel his lungs straining against his bruised ribs, head spinning from the collision, could hear himself groaning and moaning. Tails was silent next to him and he had to roll over to see his friend sitting up, glaring at the tiny computer strapped to his arm.

"I'm sorry, Sonic!" the fox yelled when he heard Sonic roll over. "I didn't know it was there until we were already too close and—"

"Are you okay?" Sonic broke in, trying to push himself up to a sitting position. His wrists gave out and he landed back on his stomach. He groaned.

"I'm fine! What about you?"

"Little winded. What happened?"

"The navigator showed the wall when we were a few feet away from it. I think we were going too fast."

Sonic heard that ring through his ears, he did, but his brain didn't take it in. "Huh?"

"We were running too fast. The navigator has to have time to calculate. It's old."

"Huh," Sonic repeated, this time with a tone of bewildered acceptance. "Can you fix it?"

It was Tails's turn to be confused. "Huh?"

"Make it run faster."

"Oh, um..." There was a pause wherein Sonic heard Tails shuffle around. He made a small _a-ha_ noise and then there was a crack. "I got the back open. Let me see if I can... Oh." He trailed off.

"Oh what?"

"Sonic... It's dark."

"Oh."

They sat in silence for a few moments, Tails fiddling with the thing even though he couldn't see it. Sonic managed to successfully sit up this time, and he began to rub his wrists, hissing quietly into the pitch black.

"I had to take my gloves off, but I can feel the wiring. I might be able to speed it up." Tails was speaking lowly, so lowly that Sonic had to scoot closer to hear him.

The hedgehog peered over his friend's shoulder, squinting to try to see what he was doing, but it was useless. "You can just speed it up by messing with the wires?"

"Maybe..." Tails yanked a wire and flipped the navigator over. The screen blinked at them, illuminating their faces, and a small loading circle spun right before their eyes. "No good. I gotta try agai—"

There was a rumble up the cavern, back the way they had come. Sonic jerked around, almost hitting Tails in the head with his arm, and spotted two small pinpricks of light staring at them—the very same pinpricks from the diner.

The world slowed down. Sonic shoved Tails down as he rose, spinning around on his heel. He kicked off, sending shockwaves through the stone floor, and smashed his body into the robot. It crumbled under his quills with a whine, almost like a puppy, and he jerked away from it as it went up in flames with a pop.

Tails made a half-worried half-surprised sound and Sonic held up a hand to keep him from moving from his spot. The fox didn't budge, blinking at Sonic with large eyes, pupils slowly narrowing now that there was light. Then, he looked back down at the navigator and started plucking at the wires again, much to Sonic's panicked chagrin.

"Tails, we have to go. That robot means more robots."

"But..." Tails didn't look up. "I almost have it!"

"Tails..." Sonic padded up to the fox and offered him his hand. "We gotta keep moving. You can work on it later."

Tails, ears folded against his head, nodded and wrapped his fingers around Sonic's palm. Sonic towed him up and turned to lead Tails back into the main part of the cave system, but then a laser sliced toward them from the darkness, carving a cut into the rock.

Tails yelped and jumped away from Sonic and the laser. The hedgehog, moving far faster than Tails ever could, jumped toward the source leg-first. He felt his foot connect with metal and he twisted his ankle, driving his heel in, and heard the metal twist and warp. His other foot kicked off the robot's chest, sending him flipping backwards and away, but not before he caught sight of the fleet of at least 50 SWATbots behind it. The cave was narrow so they were forced to shuffled forward two-by-two, but they were coming.

Sonic landed and jerked around, eyes wide, heart hammering in his throat. Tails, illuminated by the flames of the scout bot, looked to be made of more eyes than face he was so terrified. His expression made the stone of fear in Sonic's stomach roll over, igniting something in him. He turned back towards the incoming army, hands curled into fists, teeth gritting.

The next few minutes went by in a blur. Sonic probably destroyed at least twenty robots without stopping, pin-balling from one to the next with barely a chance to make sure he was still on target. They disintegrated under his quills and feet, landing in heaps on the floor, but there were always two more to replace each robot he destroyed. They swarmed over their dead brethren and Sonic could barely keep up.

In a moment of lax attention, a robot got off a lucky shot, nailing Sonic right in the center of the chest with a stun laser. Sonic went down at its feet, air whooshing out of his lungs, chest and arms numb and unresponsive. His legs, however, were fine, and he kicked at the robots looming over him, sending them spinning backwards. Once he was free, he used his legs to kick himself back towards Tails, already yelling for the fox to stay back.

Tails didn't listen. He ran forward and grabbed Sonic under the arms, dragging him back towards the wall. They were pinned in then, stuck between the mounting robot forces and a dead-end. Tails deposited Sonic against the curved rock of the wall, pushing him up so he could sit, and then stood.

"Tails!" Sonic practically screamed. The fox still wasn't listening. He darted away from Sonic, tugging at one of the straps in his gloves, and planted himself in front of the robots in a triangle pose. Sonic felt the world go silent as the robot in front leveled its laser weapon right at Tails's forehead, the fox like stone before him.

Tails reared back like a baseball player and threw something dark, flashing, and beeping over the robot.

Sonic felt his heart sink. Tails _missed_ —

The cave exploded.

...

 _Begin Again_

The only thing Sonic can hear is his own breath. The forest of Cocoa is on fire, licking at his legs as he darts through the blazing plants. The heat should bother him, but he can't feel much beyond the swelling panic and terror in his chest. He's got tears streaming down his face, both from fear and the smoke and dirt, and he wants to scream, can feel it bubbling up his throat from the pit of his stomach. He's been hiding in the woods for days now, unable to do much beyond hide in trees and lick sap from the bark for food. He both wants to die and wants to live, and the fight inside him won't let him rest.

The village is decimated. The screaming stopped about a day ago, and he had only allowed himself one run through of his old home. The people were missing, but there was blood, and Sonic didn't like the smell in the air—the half acrid, half sweet scent of death and danger. He got out of there fast.

He doesn't know what to do. He's practically surrounded by Battle Kukkus and it's only a matter of time before he gets smoked out of the forest. He can't very well jump into the ocean either, considering his rock-like physique will just drag him to a watery grave, so all he can do right now is keep moving and hope and pray that something will open up for him. Otherwise, he's deader than dead.

He's robotisized.

The forest is shrinking by the minute, the smoke getting thicker as he goes. Eventually, Sonic has to drop to his knees and start to crawl, ripping his knees and gloves open in the process. Above him, he hears an airship getting closer and he knows that there's only so much time. The last supply ship will leave at sunset and then the airship will bomb the island.

He's so distracted by the sky that he doesn't notice the patrol ahead of him. He crawls right into its line of sight and it _blares_ at him as it swivels a gun toward him. He freezes, considers his options—fire at his back, robot ahead of him, thick foliage on either side. He can escape through the plants if he sacrifices his skin, but he'd rather be scratched to all hell than dead.

The gun clicks and Sonic plants his feet to throw himself to right, the world narrowing to just this moment. His heels dig in and his muscles flex.

" _Duck_!" someone screams from the right, voice cracking in desperation, just as the gun fires. Sonic jerks to the left, tossing himself into some thistles and ferns.

The robot fires, bullets sending up sprays of dirt where Sonic used to be. Then, everything goes up in a flash of light and sound.

Sonic wakes up to a small golden face hovering over his. The forest is still on fire, he can see it in the halo of light surrounding the head, but he still can't really hear anything. His limbs and back are also on fire—with pain, but what's the difference really—and he wants to go back to sleep.

Then, he feels something shaking him and the world comes back into focus, sound zooming right back into his ears.

"Sonic!" He barely recognizes the voice. "You're alive! Thank Chaos! I thought everyone was dead!"

Small arms wrap around his middle, towing him up to a sitting position, and Sonic can't do anything except hug back because _damn_ it feels great to have a hug right now, even if the world is falling down around him— _them._

His small friend pulls back and Sonic is hit with the full force of two bright blue eyes and a dirt smudged, excited face. It takes him a few seconds to piece together a name, and when he does, he can't help but blurt it out.

"Miles! How did you—!"

"That's not important!" the tiny fox cuts in, pushing himself to his feet. "We probably shouldn't stay here, right?"

Sonic nods, trying to find some sort of direction now that he has a companion. "We need to move and keep moving. C'mon Miles, we're getting out of here."

* * *

 _Hang on to that cliff! I'll see you soon!_

 _Thank you so much for all the reviews! I'm sorry I couldn't reply this month. I'm crazy busy._

 _Here's to a great year of (non-Boom) games!_

 _Reviews are cherished!_


End file.
